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Denver → Kailua-Kona

DEN–KOA · Denver International Airport to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Big Sur leads it, with 5 more on the same side.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

DEN to KOA: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.DENKOALEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 62 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Longs Peak

    RightEarly35 mi off the route

    Longs Peak is about 35 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Elbert

    LeftEarly35 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Elbert sits roughly 35 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Maroon Bells

    LeftEarly33 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Maroon Bells, about 33 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Arches National Park

    LeftEarly29 mi off the route

    Arches National Park is about 29 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  5. Mount Whitney

    LeftQuarter in49 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Whitney sits roughly 49 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Monterey Bay

    RightQuarter in29 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Monterey Bay, about 29 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Big Sur

    LeftQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Big Sur is about 21 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Mauna Kea

    LeftNear the end18 mi off the route

    Whether Mauna Kea appears comes down to how you come into KOA, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  9. Haleakalā

    RightNear the end62 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Haleakalā, about 62 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Kīlauea

    LeftNear the end47 mi off the route

    Kīlauea is about 47 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  11. Mauna Loa

    LeftNear the end31 mi off the route

    Mauna Loa sits close enough to KOA that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

3,325 mi
Great-circle distance
261°
Course out of DEN
234°
Course into KOA
9
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Kailua-Kona → DenverRight side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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